At the age of 91, Bob McGrath, who was one of the original stars of Sesame Street, passed away on Sunday morning at his home in the state of New Jersey.
In 1969, McGrath appeared in the show’s pilot, and he continued to star in the show for the next 47 seasons after that.
On the actor’s official Facebook page, the actor’s family announced his passing.
Our father Bob McGrath, passed away today. He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family,
said a post on the entertainer’s Facebook page.
McGrath’s last episode of Sesame Street, which was called “Having a Ball” and aired in 2017, was his last as an actor on the long-running children’s show.
He made an appearance in over 150 episodes of the show, in addition to a number of specials, movies made specifically for home video, and even two full-length motion pictures.
McGrath not only taught children through the use of his puppeteering, but he also composed original songs for the production, such as “People in Your Neighborhood,” “Sing a Song,” “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” and the “Sesame Street” theme song.
Rest in Peace to our Bob McGrath.
He was so vital in not only our education, but our earliest cognitive memories.
Who are the people in your neighborhood?pic.twitter.com/mHtLqhi8MT
— Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) December 5, 2022
McGrath was one of four cast members hired for the launch of Sesame Street in 1969, and he played a character named Bob. The other three cast members were Matt Robinson, who played Gordon; Loretta Long, who played Susan; and Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper.
We’ve always looked at children as just short people,
McGrath told the Sun-Times in 1998.
We’ve never talked down to them.
The kids we were meant to reach, I think we’ve reached,
McGrath added.
They’ve grown up. They’re in their 30s now. They have kids of their own, our Sesame Seeds, and they come up to me and say: “Thank you very much. It made a major difference in our lives.”
Although McGrath finally stopped appearing in front of the camera for Sesame Street in 2017, he continued to work behind the scenes with the Sesame Workshop. Despite this, 2017 marked the end of McGrath’s long career with Sesame Workshop.
On Sunday night, actor Josh Gad published his own remembrance on his website.
McGrath was my childhood. Thank you for helping to teach us kindness, respect, love, and empathy. You were as much a teacher to my generation as any of our actual educators. RIP,
Gad wrote.
In order to keep up his role as a supporter of the show, he would continue to show up at events related to the TV franchise.
He also had starring roles in a number of Sesame Street productions over the course of his career, including stand-alone films, sing-alongs, holiday specials, video games, and more.
His final appearance was in the documentary film Sesame Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street 2021, which was released in 2021.
Before joining the cast of Sesame Street, McGrath was a member of the vocal ensemble on the 1960s NBC series Sing Along With Mitch, which was led by conductor Mitch Miller.
McGrath was born in Ottawa, Illinois, on June 13, 1932. He received his musical training at the University of Michigan and, later, at the Manhattan School of Music.
In 1958, McGrath tied the knot with the woman who would become his wife, Ann Logan Sperry.
He was one of the human adult cast members who had been a part of the series for the longest amount of time and is survived by his wife Ann, their three children, as well as their five grandchildren.
